Chloe Gudgin
Updated: Feb 6
Meet Reuben Aziz, the 20-year-old self-taught viral sensation from Southampton who has gained quite a following from his silky-smooth R&B beats that have him dubbed as the UK’s Brent Faiyaz. As he most recently released new single 'come thruuu', sonically reminiscent of Baby Keem gone R&B, Reuben is slowing climbing the ranks having been co-signed US rapper and singer Kyle, UK super producers Da Beatfreakz and Clint419 (Corteiz) who tweeted lyrics from Reuben’s viral single 'find u’.
With over 3 million streams and counting on ‘find u’ which blew him out of the water, his concoction of R&B and Soul draws from his inspiration from classic artists such as Michael Jackson and the alternative mind of Frank Ocean. “I first got into music at a really young age,’ he mentions to us. ‘I think my dad always put me onto music when I was young as he loved rap music, and 90s music. Michael Jackson was a huge influence as well.”
Exploring themes of relationships and focusing on early adulthood within his music, the last few years has been a testament to Aziz’s journey as he got deeper into making music. “I remember writing songs when I was 10 years old, I picked up the guitar at 11. I think the goal for creating music was to express emotions, but I don’t think I looked at it like that when I was 14 or 15.” Reuben goes on to mention his love of producer mogul Kanye West and the mind of Pharrell Williams and how he draws inspiration of that style of music for his own and drawing on life experiences. Reuben goes on to talk about his creative influences outside of his own music with what inspires him such as the influences around him in his life and the everyday mundane situations. Religion is a big inspiration for his music creatively and how his love of art, fashion, cover art on albums and music albums help him creatively with his music. “I think the things that inspire me are people, like relationships with people, how they feel and how I talk to them and also God”
When it comes to longevity, Reuben mentions that he always found a way back to music, which made him realise that this was his calling. “I stood with music even when I didn’t know if it was going to be the pathway, and I still came back to it. I think life has been a progression of what I have seen and how I feel and reflecting on the emotions into the music.’
From creating beats and writing lyrics in his pre-teens, he also drew inspiration from other artistic sources such as Pixar movies. “Watching movies influenced me for sure. I don’t think it’s just that it’s a Pixar movie, I think generally speaking, stuff that feels nostalgic is naturally inspiring. Frank ocean is someone that I like to listen to a lot, and I found myself more recently listening to older music and I think nostalgia brings people together and I think it’s a beautiful thing.”
But one of the reasons why Reuben’s music is so popular is because of his mixture of vulnerability, transparency and emotion. “I think it’s not as natural [being vulnerable] without music. When I started making music, I didn’t think about it getting released so I think I created a habit of being vulnerable in my music, and I still am.’
Throughout the conversation Reuben’s passion for not just music but producing is very profound with his earlier mention of nostalgia and wanting to create his own sound in music and producing. “I remember when I was 14 and I got into rap music heavily, but I didn’t want to just get beats off of YouTube.” And with time and persistence, Reuben started to produce all of his own music, with the push and inspiration by the likes of Kanye West who started his career in a similar vein, but before the internet of course.
With 2023 being a successful year, 2024 can only bring more positivity and abundance. As he works towards a new project, Reuben Aziz will soon be a household name as he strives to bring a completely different wave to the UK R&B scene.
Connect with Reuben on Spotify